Tag: Ohio

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Ohio Doctors Can Now Refuse To Treat LGBTQ Patients On ‘Religious’ Grounds

Stock image of a highway sign as you enter Ohio

Stock image of a highway sign as you enter Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) of Ohio has signed a bill that allows medical providers to refuse care to LGBTQ patients if they have an objection based on “religious” grounds. The new language was apparently buried in last-minute amendments to the state’s two-year budget bill, which DeWine signed into law on June 30. Governor DeWine had the opportunity to line-item veto the language while signing the rest of the budget into law and refused to do so. The new law allows any medical provider – from doctors and nurses to researchers, lab techs and insurance companies – “the freedom to decline to perform, participate in, or pay for any health care service which violates the practitioner’s, institution’s, or payer’s conscience as informed by the moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.” Local advocates warn this rule legalizes discrimination against LGBTQ patients as well as members of other marginalized groups like drug addicts or people living with HIV or sexually transmitted diseases.

Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David in a statement, “Today governor DeWine enshrined LGBTQ discrimination into law, threatening the medical well being of more than 380,000 LGBTQ people in Ohio, one of the largest LGBTQ populations anywhere in the country.” “Medical practitioners in Ohio can deny care or coverage for basic, medically-necessary, and potentially life-saving care to LGBTQ people simply because of who they are,” added David. DeWine insisted the conscience clause will change very little, and claimed that no one in Ohio will be discriminated against. “This simply puts in statute what the practice has been anyways,” he said. “Let’s say the doctor is against abortion, the doctor is not doing abortion. If there’s other things that maybe a doctor has a conscience problem with, it gets worked out, somebody else does those things.” Dr. Todd Kepler, southwest medical director of Equitas Health, a nonprofit health care system serving LGBTQ patients in the Midwest, told Cincinnati ABC News affiliate WCPO the ”widely broad” language in the new rule will exacerbate existing barriers to care for many marginalized groups, like drug addicts, people living with HIV, and the LGBT+ community. “Say I happen to be a gay patient and I wanted to see a provider in my town, and there weren’t really any other providers in town,” said Kepler. “But they find that morally unacceptable, they could turn me away.” “And the language is so broad that that could even be done at an institutional level. So, if you have a hospital that perhaps has an affiliation with a religious institution, and again, that happens to be the only institution in town, theoretically they could turn that patient away for health care.”

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Voter Fraud: Ohio Man Admits To Forging Dead Father’s Signature On Ballot

Voting

Another case of voter fraud has been discovered in Ohio where a Republican man admitted to signing and submitting his dead father's ballot. More voter fraud found in Ohio. Oh, and yes, it’s another Republican caught cheating. From NBC News:

Edward Snodgrass, who is a Porter Township trustee, has admitted to forging his dead father’s signature on an absentee ballot and then voting again as himself, court records and other sources revealed.

Snodgrass was busted after a Delaware County election worker questioned the signature on his father’s ballot. A subsequent investigation revealed the ballot had been mailed to H. Edward Snodgrass on Oct. 6 — a day after the 78-year-old retired businessman died.

In an interview with NBC News, Snodgrass said he made “an honest error” while struggling to take care of his dying father, who had advanced Parkinson’s disease. He said he had power of attorney for several years and because his dad had broken his right arm he’d already been “signing for him.” He said his dad had requested the absentee ballot.

Snodgrass told NBC News he had been “sleep-deprived” and not thinking clearly. The 57-year-old has apparently agreed to plea guilty to a reduced charge of falsification which comes with a $500 fine and three days in jail. Had he fought the charges of illegal voting, a fourth-degree felony, he could have faced a prison sentence of six or more months along with a $5,000 fine. Even though Donald Trump continues to rant and rage about “widespread voter fraud,” the fact is it didn’t happen. In May the Washington Post did a deep dive into local news reports across the country and found “only 16 incidents in which someone has faced criminal charges stemming from their attempt to vote illegally.” I’ve previously reported on another Republican Trump supporter in Colorado who faked his missing wife’s signature and mailed her ballot in for Trump.

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Ohio ‘Karen’ Gives Quite The Performance

An Ohio 'Karen' puts on quite a show (and gets arrested)

An Ohio 'Karen' puts on quite a show (and gets arrested)
Ohio Karen really thought she was proving a point (she wasn’t)
After viewing this installment of ‘The Karen Chronicles,’ I sat back and wondered, as I often do with ‘Karens’ – “What is it these folks THINK they are accomplishing?” Police in Brook Park, Ohio, were called to a Marc’s Deeper Discount Store as Karen (yes, her name really is Karen) was putting up a snit about having to wear a face mask while shopping in the store. The Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 pandemic guidelines currently require masks public. As you’ll see, she really seems to think she’s going to prove some kind of a point, but instead was arrested for resisting police, trespassing, and failure to disclose information, according to cleveland.com. Folks – for the last time, stores and restaurants have the right to refuse service to anyone if their rules aren’t followed. For years we’ve heard ‘no shoes, no shirt, no service’ due to health regulations. For now, we’re adding ‘no mask, no service.’ If a state or municipality has a public accommodations law/ordinance, that only requires that everyone be treated the same. If the ‘same’ means everyone wear a mask or leave, that’s being treated the ‘same.’ You can be removed (and arrested) for trespassing.  No one has a constitutional right to shop at a grocery store. GET OVER IT. We’re all just trying to get through this pandemic as best we can. Watch below as Miss Karen really puts on quite the performance.

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News Round-Up: December 17, 2020

Austin Wolf scored at the 3rd annual PornHub Awards (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • OUT: Adult entertainment giant Pornhub held its third annual awards last night. The winners are decided by real data (based on what users searched, viewed, and sought after the most this year) from PornHub.com, which according to its website brings in over 140 million daily visitors and over 55 billion searches. Among the winners was Austin Wolf (above) who scored as ‘Top Daddy Performer’ of the year. • Boy Culture: Patti LaBelle’s gay Trumper nephew made headlines when he became involved in a deeply weird online mystery, in which he was apparently tweeting on behalf of a white Republican. Miss Patti had some words with her nephew. • LGBTQ Nation: Federal judge slaps down an Ohio law that bans transgender people from correcting birth certificates. Score one for the good guys! • Instinct Magazine: Josh Brolin is breaking the internet with his birthday suit photo. • TMZ: Atlantic City is auctioning off the opportunity of demolishing the long-closed, decaying Trump Casino. • The Advocate: Legendary gay actor Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men movies) is among the latest to get the new vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. The 81-year-old star said he’s feeling “euphoric” after getting his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. “I would have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone.”

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Battleground State Polls: Pennsylvania, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Arizona

As always, we take polling with a grain of salt, but these battleground state polls may be of interest: • Pennsylvania – Monmouth University Polling – Joe Biden holds a 12-point lead over Donald Trump among all registered voters in Pennsylvania (54% – 42%) and anywhere from an 8-point to 11-point lead among likely voters. This marks an improvement from Biden’s single-digit lead in a Monmouth poll just over one month ago.

• Florida – University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab – 51 percent of voters indicated they will be voting for Joe Biden compared to 45 percent of voters who said they would vote for President Donald Trump. (3,142 registered likely voters – 39 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat, and 22 percent signaled no party affiliation). • Nevada and Ohio – New York Times/Siena College Poll – Biden leads 48 percent to 42 percent among likely voters in Nevada and 45 to 44 percent in Ohio, the polls found. Six percent of Nevada voters and 7 percent of Ohioans said they remain undecided.

• Arizona – Data Orbital – Biden leads Trump 47.7 percent to 43.2 percent in Arizona, with 6.5 percent saying they were undecided. The poll included 39 percent Republicans and 33 percent Democrats.

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Fox News State Polls: Biden Ahead +11 In NV, +7 In PA, +5 In Ohio

L-R Former Vice President Joe Biden, Donald Trump
Let me start by pointing out this is a FOX News poll, ok…? From Fox News:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in the battleground states of Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, according to Fox News statewide likely voter surveys.

In each of the three states, majorities disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president, pluralities say coronavirus is “not at all” under control, and Biden is the preferred choice when it comes to handling the virus. Plus, he’s favored over Trump to nominate the next U.S. Supreme Court justice.

There are few undecided voters, and Biden’s support is 50 percent or better in each state. His advantage over Trump is outside the margin of error in Nevada and Pennsylvania, but not Ohio.

Bolding is mine. NEVADA Biden: 52% Trump: 41% OHIO Biden: 50% Trump: 45% PENNSYLVANIA Biden: 51% Trump: 44% That said, this is totally NOT a done deal. We all need to get to the polls and cast our vote – either by mail or in person – by election day.

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Vandals Burn ‘FAG’ Into The Front Lawn Of Ohio Gay Couple

(image via Facebook)
Bradley O’Dell and his fiancé Mike Stone were recently stunned to see someone had used chemicals to burn a homophobic slur into their front lawn. The couple told local news station WHIO that they’ve lived in their home in Arcanum, Darke County, for about a year. “I grew up in this town,” said O’Dell. “I moved back for a reason and that’s because I know this community as a whole is great.” But on May 22nd, Stone says he walked outside to find someone had burned the homophobic slur ‘F*G’ into the grass in their front yard. “I never in a million years thought I would see that in my front yard,” Stone said. “I’m angry, I don’t understand. But, as a gay man, I feel like I’ve gone through this before. It’s almost like it comes with the territory.”

“Am I pissed? Livid like you’ve probably never seen me,” wrote Stone in a Facebook post. “Did I go right ahead and mow that sh*t down and go about my day? After filing a police report and finding out many of our neighbors have security cameras that cover our block, you flippin bet I did.” Adding that the couple refuses to let an act of “small-minded ignorance” be allowed to bring negativity into their lives, they created a fundraiser on Facebook for the local organization Have a Gay Day. The organization works to create a safe environment for the purpose of equality, education, and support for the LGBTQ community and its allies. In six days, the fundraiser has racked up nearly $5,000 in donations. “The love and support that has been shown and spread from our story has been incredible,” wrote Stone thanking friends, family, and strangers for their contributions. “Whether you are near or far, thank you for all of the love and compassion you have shown us and each other.” “If this hateful act had to happen, we are thrilled to be able to turn it into a message of love and support,” he added. Arcanum Police Chief Marcus Ballinger told WHIO that the investigation into who is responsible for the vandalism is still underway, but he’s not sure what the culprit would be charged with. “It all comes down to what the prosecutors’ office decides how they want to proceed,” said Ballinger. “Right now we’re in the investigative phase of the case.” Ohio has no statewide hate crime statute regarding crimes against someone for sexual orientation.  

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Podcast: UNSAD Podcast, Ohio Teacher Fired For Having Husband, Ryan Murphy’s ‘Hollywood’

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this week’s podcast: • A former police officer will receive a settlement after being denied a job because he is HIV positive • Ohio teacher fired for having a husband • Small steps forward for LGBTQ rights in Morocco • The Trump administration is close to removing important anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQs from the Affordable Care Act • Ryan Murphy’s new Netflix series Hollywood is a progressive, pro-LGBTQ reimagining of post-World War II Tinseltown • New ‘good news’ podcast to help you sleep at night – UNSAD Podcast www.unsadpodcast.com All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report podcast

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News Round-Up: April 29, 2020

I’m a little late getting this News Round-Up out, so rather than make you wait while I scour the Gram of Insta for an InstaHunk, you get this pic of me from this morning before the day got away from me. Just want to let you know we’re still kicking out here in Las Vegas and I hope everyone’s going great as we close out Hump Day. Here are a few news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: After teaching English for 23 years at Archbishop Alter High School in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, a teacher has been notified his contract will not be renewed for the coming school year because he’s married to his husband. • Gay City News: LGBTQ groups in Morocco are encouraging gay men to get rid of the Grindr accounts after a social media influencer encouraged people to use the app’s location data to identify gay locals. • Out Music: After years battling a debilitating chronic pain condition, out indie artist Stefan Alexander recently released his first new music since 2016. Check out the pop-synth title track from his new EP, Cry Again. “Cry Again is sort of the aftermath and getting back in touch with my emotions, all these emotions I had bottled up for so long and didn’t allow myself to feel,” Alexander shared with American Songwriter earlier this year.

• Washington Post: U.S. intelligence agencies issued warnings about the novel coronavirus in more than a dozen classified briefings prepared for President Trump in January and February, months during which he continued to play down the threat, according to current and former U.S. officials. • KIT212: For this week’s edition of ‘Wrestle Wednesdays,’ Kenneth notes “there’s so much going on in this scene you have to see it for yourself.” In addition to the athlete, that coach can seriously wear some pants…

 

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News Round-Up: April 16, 2020

(image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Gorgeous photo of the moon over Turkey from Instagram user mostafa.rok (above). Follow him here. #AnyoneSeeAMoon? • The Advocate: Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips is being sued (again) after refusing to bake a birthday cake for a transgender woman. • Washington Examiner: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) announced Thursday that Ohio will begin to reopen some of its businesses on May 1. The governor has a stay-at-home order in place until May 1 and opted not to extend it as he begins to roll out his plan for relaxing some of the social distancing guidelines. • Gallup Polling: As Donald Trump works to contain the damage from the novel coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., the rally in support he enjoyed as the nation entered a virtual lockdown has faded. His job approval rating, now 43%, has slipped six percentage points since mid-March when he earned 49% approval, which tied his personal best.
(graphic via Gallup)
• OUT: Illustrator Tommy Taylor has transformed Disney Princes into the quarantined gays we know and love. • Newsweek: According to survey averages from Real Clear Politics, Biden is ahead of Trump in half a dozen states critical to the Electoral College map this November: Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. • Twitter: I am not mad at Spain’s army uniforms for members of its elite La Legión, and neither is the internet.